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Sunday, May 17, 2009

TODAY: NOT ONE OF MY FAVORITES, BUT ONE OF OUR MORE IMPORTANT

Today I didn't preach. No one did as far as delivering the official message. It stretches me to have a morning where there is no "message". However, the sermon came in a different form. It came as parents honored their graduating seniors.

The message? All too clear. Plain, common, wonderful, and very dear people struggled through their seven minutes each to say something special to one of the most important people in their midst; their child. The pressure was on. An auditorium full were measuring every word; sometimes we all held our breath as a mom would pause to swallow her tears before finishing a sentence.

People are valuable. Jesus died for them. The vision of watching grown people say faithful composites to newly grown people is an exercise important to the kingdom. While we have Senior Sunday once a year, we should have honor your brother and sister every day of the kingdom. There is so much good to point out. There is so much praise easily as our disposal for free dispensation.

It is easier for me to do a sermon. After all, that's part of who I am. Sitting while others do the talking is unnatural for me. However, God is always speaking through His people. Today He spoke volumes through the unprofessionals who were battling nerves to get something said of impact. I applaud Memorial Drive for taking the time to practice Ephesians 4:29...speaking good words that it might give grace to those who hear.

1 comment:

There was a very positve message in today for me as a parent. At first, I sat there and imagined would my life would have been like had I had some positive affirmation throughout my life like these kids have. Some of the things those kids heard in their 7 minutes were things that I have never heard in a life time. I was happy these kids were getting a chance to hear how their parents feel about them. Knowing how much your parents love you is one of the best feelings in the world and seeing that these parents are willing to do whatever it takes by letting God lead in their lives is such a true testament to why we have such good teens. This gives me such hope and such joy as our kids get older. I want to always make sure and communicate to them how much I love them, how important they are, how successful they are, How proud I am of them, and most importantly how much God loves them everyday. I love this reminder each year as we watch these kids move into the next chapter of their lives and we relase them into God's hand and pray their choices are right. And you are right! That prayer shouldn't just be for our kids, but for one another as well! Just imagine what our world would look like if we all spoke God's greatest command everyday.

Terry Rush

My World

We all get lost in our workaholism, people pleasing, and numbing behaviors as we try to escape the pain of life and the messiness of loving others. But some of us appear more whole than others, and that may be the greatest danger of all. It results in the last addiction: we rely on ourselves to heal ourselves, and so we miss the healing path.

Sharon Hersh...The Last Addiction

I miss being in the company of risky and complex thinkers, people who are invested in our culture and who challenge me to think to the edges of my comfort zones. I believed then and I believe now that where everybody thinks the same nobody thinks very much.Rosaria Butterfield...The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert